Far Mountain Ferry.
Li Ping'an sat by the roadside, took out the Wine Gourd, and had a sip.
Now, though, he did not know which way to go.
There were no signposts by the road, much less any people.
So he picked a road at random and walked on.
He figured that if he went far enough, he would surely find signs of habitation.
Along the weed-choked road at night, he could hear all sorts of insects.
Every so often, Kitten darted into the grass, caught one, then let it go.
Then she went to catch other bugs.
Suddenly, a flurry of panicked footsteps came from the grass.
Kitten came rushing back.
A long black snake was clinging to her paw, its teeth sunk into it.
No matter how hard Kitten shook her paw, she could not shake it off, and she grew terribly anxious.
Li Ping'an flicked a finger.
The snake fell into the dirt and vanished.
Presumably, it too was a creature that had become a spirit.
Kitten looked at her injured hand, then raised her head.
Struggling to hold back her tears, she asked, "The Fairy won't be poisoned, will she?"
"Probably not."
"But what if she is?"
Old Ox walked over. "Ptooey!"
He spat into his palm, then rubbed it over Kitten's injured paw.
It was healed.
Kitten raised her head and stared at him in shock.
After a night of rain, the sky finally cleared.
Someone came riding down the muddy road, urging his horse on.
"Hyah, hyah, hyah!"
The horse galloped wildly, its four hooves striking the ground.
The mud it kicked up flew like exploding splashes of water.
Hearing the noise, the man, the ox, and the cat all deliberately moved aside.
Even so, they could not avoid being splattered with mud.